National Journal Congressional Ratings Released

Ratings key: economic (E), social (S) and foreign policy (F)

National Journal's ratings reveal little in the way of surprises (methodology and ratings explanations at the link).

Only mildly amusing are the numbers for Democrat John Salazar and former Republican Rep. Joel Hefley. Salazar recognizes that strong liberal policies would undercut the support inside his district; Hefley's strongly conservative base might be more astonished at his somewhat moderate voting record, especially in the foreign policy arena.

In the end, no eye-opening revelations here. ColoradoPols believes that Rep. Mark Udall's lower liberal ratings might end charges of Udall being a "Boulder liberal"--this appears to be quite a stretch, even though Rep. Diana DeGette won the "most liberal in Colorado" award. It will be difficult for Udall to escape the reputation of the People's Republic of Boulder--though how much that will affect his statewide chances will not be ascertained until after Nov. 2008.